Fibre Warm tone papers

[Dave Saunders]

When I was last in a darkroom (nearly 20 years ago) we used to use a fibre based paper that gave a very subtle warm tone, I think it was Agfa paper but not sure.
My question is to anyone who has used the current range of fibre based warm tone papers. Are the tones subtle or "in your face". if they are do you have any control over the warmth effect?

On another note, do you have to wash fibre papers flat in a dish or can you use the still available upright RC print washers ( I'm running out of room in my new darkroom).

Thanks In advance

[neil poulsen]

I've seen selenium toned Ilford Warmtone fiber paper produce some really knock-out results. Absolutely beautiful.

I think the paper of which you're thinking is Agfa Portriga from a long time ago.

I remember some photographs of buildings printed with Portriga that were really something.

[Louie Powell]

My experience is limited to Ilford and Kentmere papers, and I have found that Ilford generally is warmer than Kentmere. Specifically, progressing from cold to warm, I would order them as:

Kentmere FinePrint VC neutral
Ilford Multigrade FB neutral
Kentmere FinePrint VC warm
Ilford Multigrade FB Warmtone

The warmth of a print depends on developer and toner. My experience is that Ilford's neutral and Kentmere's warm are actually very close, and the relative placement of those two can be changed by tinkering with darkroom variables.

[Darren Kruger]

On another note, do you have to wash fibre papers flat in a dish or can you use the still available upright RC print washers ( I'm running out of room in my new darkroom).

I have used many archival print washers with fiber based paper. These hold the prints vertical in slots. I've done this at two local colleges and at a local lab.

-Darren

[Petzval Paul]

I use Kentmere's WT FB paper and I love it. It has a subtle warm tone in selenium and a rich, chocolate brown in a standard sulfide toner. It's also very fast; for long exposures you might need to turn down the safe-lights to prevent fogging. The reduced exposures definately are a plus for an impatient person like me!

- Paul

[Louie Powell]

On another note, do you have to wash fibre papers flat in a dish or can you use the still available upright RC print washers ( I'm running out of room in my new darkroom).

Archival washers are nice if you have one. But they are expensive and they use a lot of water.

I simply soak my prints in trays. Transfer the prints one at a time into a tray of water and let them sit for 5 minutes or so. Fill a second tray, and transfer the prints, one at a time from tray 1 to tray 2. Dump tray 1 and fill with water, and then transfer the prints from tray 2 to tray 1. Continue to repeat this process for about 30 minutes, then squeegee the prints and dry them face down on fiberglass screens.

At about 2 quarts of water per cycle, that totals about 3 gallons of water. Ansel Adams recommended washing for an hour in a continuous flow of water at the rate of 60 gallons/minute. My method uses 99.9% less water.

[domenico Foschi]

In term of base color the closest thing to the Agfa that I have had chance to work on is Foma Classic warmtone.
I fell in love with the swatch that I found at freestyle, I bought a box but it didn't correnspond to what I saw.
It still is a nice paper, the double weight is a little thin, but not bad.
I went back to Ilford warmtone developed with Platinum II developer from EDwal.
The base is not as warm but I really like it.

[Erich Hoeber]

For a subtle warm tone I really like Arista EDU Ultra from Freestyle, which is some sort of re-branded Foma. It's also extremely inexpensive. I like the Ilford Warmtone as well, but the price is ridiculous IMHO.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

I tend to prefer the Ilford FB Warmtone developed in Clayton P-20 1+6. Rich tones but not overly warm.

I also have a few boxes of the Arista EDU Ulta, but it is the older version that was re-branded Forte Polywarmtone from what I understand. Nice paper, but I have found the speed to vary from box to box, some faster than others.

Both papers take Selenium toners very well. I always use Selenium at 1+10 and vary the time to get the look I like. Test these papers in toner as some will tone very fast and change colors very quickly.

Domenico - I have never used the Edwal Platinum II developer, what is it about that combination of developer and paper that you like? I might give it a try.

Also, I want to test the Kentmere and the Forma papers as well. It is my understanding that the "old" version of the Agfa Mutlicontrast paper may come back on the market. This was a great paper as it was warmer tone on a very white base. If it comes back, I will be excited to try that.

[Charles Hohenstein]

I fell in love with the swatch that I found at freestyle

Freestyle will send paper samples? I did not know that. Do they have a sample pack of different warmtone papers, or does one have to ask for samples of specific papers individually?